Nandos, Mateos reopened after hours of closure

After hours of closure, Nandos and Mateos, both high-end hang-outs, have been reopened for business after agreeing on payment schedule with the tax body, Uganda Revenue Authority Assistant Commissioner for Corporate Affairs, Sarah Birungi Banage told Daily Monitor.

According to Ms Banage, the move to temporary seal off the two premises was reached after it became apparent that the management of the two outlets were not ready to cooperate with the tax body in as far as clearing the tax arrears, amounting to Shs400million.

Nandos and Mateos closed over tax debts Photo by Ismail Kezaala

The temporary closure did not only inconvenience several customers but also left many stranded. A sticker by the tax collector which was stamped on the two premises doors, read: “Office Premises Sealed off. Contact Uganda Revenue Authority Debt collection Unit for details.”Ms Banage said: “We have been in touch with them several times trying to have them clear their liability but they didn’t. We even have bounced cheques from them. So we had to act.

She continued: “However I can now confirm that they have now paid some money and we are going to open their premises for business. They have also promised that they will clear the balance in the next few days."

Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) manager in charge of Debt Collection, Mr Abdul Salaam Waiswa, also confirmed the development, saying the operations is part of the tax prefect move to enforce compliance among individuals and businesses that are either non complaint or tax evaders.

Utility URA last financial year registered a shortfall of nearly Shs500billion.Uganda’s tax collection ratio is still among the lowest in the region due to small tax collection baseThis financial year at least 10 trillion is expected to be collected internally by URA